Lot 134
GERALD SUMMERS (BRITISH 1899–1967)
THREE 'TV-T' STACKING TABLES, DESIGNED 1953
Auction: MODERN MADE | Lots 1 - 422 | Fri 01 May at 10am
Description
each cast GERALD SUMMERS REGISTERED DESIGN NO. 871987 (to underside), cast aluminium, two with oak legs and veneered top, the other with beech legs and veneered top
Dimensions
46cm high, 33.5cm wide, 33.5cm deep (18 1/8in high, 13 ¼in wide, 13 ¼in deep) (3)
Footnote
Literature:
Deese, Martha, Gerald Summers & Marjorie Butcher: Makers of Simple Furniture 1931-1940, Hatje Cantz, Berlin, 2024, p.281, fig.8.30, illustrated, for example of this model.
Gerald Summers’ ‘TV-T’ table stands out as one of the few designs he produced after the war, arriving more than ten years after the closure of his London company, Makers of Simple Furniture. On 30 October 1953, he formally registered the aluminium top with the Patent Office.
Promotional notes prepared at the time show that Summers conceived the piece as a versatile occasional table or stool—something equally at home in a sitting room, bedroom, or even a shop window as display furniture. The design emphasised practicality: the table could be put together in moments, the top resisted both heat and spills, and the pieces stacked neatly when not in use.
Two versions were offered. The veneered model, positioned at the higher end of the range, combined a gold, light, or dark green enamelled aluminium top with an inset veneer of sycamore (red or white), bird’s-eye maple, or oak, paired with legs in the same timber. The less costly enamelled model gave customers a wide choice of colours for the top, with legs in black or red beech, oak, or white ash.
